when i started turkey hunting i knew nothing. absolutely nothing! it was something NEW that i wanted to do. we didn't have any birds near our home . dad found a video and we watched it a few times in one afternoon and thought ''seems simple enough'',,,lets go! we expected the turkeys to all come running at the first call ,that following season. things didn't go as planned,and i think dad lost interest for several years.i did some more study on the subject and practiced on my one mouth call .i'll skip a few years to not become too boring. i copied every one in the videos . camo , longrange shotguns,all the calls i could afford. you mightsay i went at my huning like i was killin' snakes. fast and furious. one day i was talking with an avid shotgunner and he relayed to me in a very stern tone ,,, any common shotgun in modified choke is more than sufficient to kill a turkey IF you know how to get him in close. i doubt that i've ever been on a hunt without recalling his words. that and things like decoy or not ? blind for concealment or the ability to become concealed with nothing but a tree behind me.i recall reading the words ''woodsmanship kills more turkeys than world championship calling'' for the first time . IT STUCK!!! ''OLDSCHOOLTURKEYTACTICS'' is just a name that i have given to my own personal demands on myself as to how i'll go about TRICKIN' TOM to come inside MY personal limitations. i choose to carry a gun no more capable than what was available in 1920 with the exception being a more modern TURKEY LOAD , in 2 3/4 inch. i will hunt with someone who prefers a decoy , but when alone or with my stepsons, no decoy. do i look down my nose at people who don't do things like i do? no i do not!! its just a goal of mine to continue to learn and become better . AM I GOOD AT IT? WHY , HELLO NO!! BUT THERE AIN'T NOBODY HAVING MORE FUN THAN I AM !I SAID IT BEFORE ,,,,OLD SCHOOL TURKEY TACTICS,,, THEY WORK, THEY FILL TAGS AND MAKE FINE MEMORIES, SPECIALLY WHEN I TAKE ONE OF THOSE HIGH PRESSURED BIRDS FROM PUBLIC LAND.lets talk turkey

hello mark,thanx for the explanation very interesting.are you good at it?obviously you took a fall gobbler & thats supposed to be the hardest task in the fall woods & with the old skool gun & such.as far as the woodsmanship being the top call theres no doubt ,but theres nothing like calling one in especialy from a great distance.decoys?yeah i use them sometimes but more often not mainly when i set up to blind call,if you havent tried a gobbler decoy you need to its awsome, when a bird comes in pissed off & tries to whip its butt,blind? mainly when its raining or when the wife goes or im tryin to get it on film,as far as public land, there is no greater satisfaction than taking a LONG BEARD from the same ground that anyone in the world can hunt!!

Very good post. Like you, when I started hunting turkeys they were quite rare. It took the man who got me started, Glynn Shubert, 7 years to see & kill his first bird. It took me 3 years to kill one.

Camo was military surplus and no real turkey guns, turkey chokes or turkey shotshells.

I kind of grew up with the modern turkey seasons as they opened in various states and have witnessed the dramatic restoration of the wild turkey to its present state. I've also witnessed the growth of the turkey hunting industry first hand. It's been truly amazing.

Like you, I see lots of room for many types of hunts and many types of hunters. I encourage folks to use woodsmanship and to remember why they are hunting. For most, it's no longer a matter of survival. It's a matter of getting closer to nature and getting back to our roots.

Lastly, I hope we can all remember that we should not "play to the crowd" but rather hunt for our own personal enjoyment. That helps to keep us honest to ourselves.

Again, a very good post and a reminder of why we hunt.

Thanks,
Clark

"If he's out of range, it just means that he has another day and so do you."

hey fellers
dad killed my first successful call in. i was in dire need of some camo. i am 6' 3'' and could not find anything that fit me. the clothes under the little camo i was wearing was stickin' out all over . my net was an old green ''T'' shirt with the neck sewed shut and eye holes cut in it.
i hunted the same public land 5 years runnin' before i killed a spring bird.
that first bird, the one dad dropped ,April 29,1988,,pike state forest.
.

boy hay i bet you looked funny runnin thru them woods with all them clothes hangin out your clothes,shoot i figure you still do!! hee,,,hee,,well i guess i was lucky when i started i took a big fat jake on my 4th outing, on my 2nd outing i missed a long beard of course i had a buddy helping me out he had hunted the year before i started so he kind of new a little about them birds,(what suprised me was he let me shoot @ the long beard when he had never taken one himself,thats a freind folks)i ended up taking another jake on my own that year & that ruined me forever,ive been an addict ever since,i returned the favor to my buddy the following year yelping up his first long beard for him @ laurell hill,it was an exciting hunt one i will surely never forget.we have been chasing birds together every spring since

thanks fellers for the kind words.still funny lookin'? i'm used to it now , but don't ask me to remove my net if we happen to run into each other in the woods, though i have done it in the past and ''THEY WILL SHOCK GOBBLE AT LOUD LAUGHTER IN THE WOODS''. like July Johnson said in the movie''RETURN TO LONESOME DOVE'',,,''IT'S EASIER TO WEAR IT THAN LOOK AT IT'' y'all take care,, i need to go look at the calender ,,, when is openin' day?

Evening fellas. I admire you guys in the fact that when you started turkey killin it wasn't exactly the easiest thing to hunt(like it's so easy now?!). I'm a "new boy" so I have the advantage of modern tech to help-or hinder-me. I didn't have a whole lot of opportunity to enjoy the woods in the Chicago area so when I moved to NE I made sure I took every chance I could to get out in nature. Hunting was kind of an accidental discovery. If my buddy hadn't asked me to tag along I never would be here writing to you fine fellers. I only went with him to get out doors. For me every chance I can get out into the woods is "the best day of my life". Chasing turkeys just makes the outdoor experience that much better. Like you guys I'm also an addict now and almost can't remember what life was like when I wasn't looking forward to my next hunt. Hopefully I'm not rambling but in my mind it makes sense. I just wanted to say thanks for this thread, it moved me. Later

NO BEARDHUNTER,,YOU AIN'T RAMBLIN' ,,,,,YOU ARE MAKING GOOD SENSE.you keep at'em feller,,,,,if my mind isn't failing me i recall you mention a son. i have no blood children , and my stepsons were grown and married before they got around to turkey hunting with me. you have before you a great LEARNING AND TEACHING OPPORTUNITY. everything you learn as you enter the hunting sport, pass it on to your son and let him be as excited as you are. what a privilige.

Hey Mark,
Correct u are sir. My son is 7 and is a footstep follower of his old man(talk about a reponsability!). He loves hunting as much as I do and went with me when I got my deer. He actually helped me dress it. I bought him a box call of his own and he is going to help call in the gobblers this spring. I can't express how much I love having him by my side. That to me is what hunting is all about.

Oldschoolturkeytactics, love it. First time I turkey hunted I killed a long beard, lucky. treebark camo and a camo hat. diaphram call, 2 3/4 Nitro mag left over from squirel season. I knew nothing. I had roosted a bird the night before but he didn't gobble that morning. I stood in the woods near his roost waiting. across the field 1\4 mile a bird was gobbleing his head off and I could'nt decide what to do. Finally trotted across the feild and set up. He came in about a half hour and 30 gobbles later. Called dad a few days later and told him. Dad wanted to know how long was the beard and spurs. I hadn't even measured or kept them tossed it to the dog with the head neck ect. next year killed another long beard, still have the beard and spurs 24 years later. Took me 3 more years to kill my next bird. Still hunting with the 2 3/4, nick named it pipsqueek. Couple of us were sitting in turkey camp in Pa. a few years ago, every one had 3 or 3 1/2 magnums. Some one said I had a pipsqueek and it stuck, I told them if they called better they wouldn't need to reach out so far. Also saves me from running so far to pick up my bird. 25 years later I'm as hooked and excited as the first. I killed a bird last year in Pa. took me three days to get him. Bird came in from my left and I had turned 90 degrees to my father and used his shoulder as my back rest. My father was looking over my gun shoulder when I fired. He told me I was shaking the entire 45-60 minutes it took the bird to come in. I hope I never stop shaking.